Franklin Graham Distribution in Ecuador

After Christmas Deals!!!!

Well the sales just keep getting better!

First, Michael's Craft stores is clearancing Christmas items from 50%-80% off... including 70% off wrapping paper and stocking stuffers! PLUS on Jan 1- Jan 2 you can use a coupon for an ADDITIONAL SAVINGS of $5 off a $25 purchase. Get the coupon in the insert or at http://weeklyad.michaels.com/coupons/?storeId=8791&promotionCode=Michaels-121230

At Walmart most things are 50% off... good finds include plastic cups, cute plush (at 1.49), pencils, wrapping paper (which should go lower as there is a LOT there) PLUS today I found out that the 18 packs of washcloths (still mixed with other 18 packs) in Christmas colors are ALSO half off! So they are $2 for 18!!! They may go lower but that is a fabulous price!

If you buy a multipack of washcloths, cups, pencils and have extras, share with friends, your church, or a packing party!  
Multipacks multiply the blessings!



Let me know if you find any other amazing deals!

Tool Box Packing Party

I found a post over at the Steward Shop blog and was blown away... and my mind went spinning... and my heart went thump thumping as I thought of the blessing those boxes would be to the boy who received them. Potentially LIFECHANGING. WOW. Over at the Steward Shop blog she described a very special packing party.... packing what they called Career boxes for boys for Operation Christmas Child! They packed such amazing things in their boxes- tools as well as school supplies, toiletries, and toys!

And I thought, I absolutely must hurry over to my blog and post this! Now!! Maybe out there... somewhere in blogland, there is another person who finds this exciting as I do.. and wants their Men's Bible study or prayer group to do this... or their son's Boy Scout group.. or their family... or or or.....

What a blessing. And you are probably by now wondering WHAT IS THIS WOMAN RAMBLING ON ABOUT NOW?????

Ok.. enough of ME babbling and onto her post!!
http://stewardshop.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-guys-tool-box-packing-party-over.html

PS. Yes. Toolboxes CAN be used.. and fishing boxes... IF and ONLY IF.. they are the size of standard shoeboxes and have handles, etc that lay flat.So useful!

PPS.. Do you see the potential? Fishing boxes. Sewing boxes. Cooking boxes. Oooooo what wonderful packing parties these could be! And what blessings for an age group that typically does not receive as many shoeboxes!

Deal on Soap at Dollar Tree PLUS other deals

Hi.. if you get the Sunday Paper tomorrow, it will include the Proctor and Gamble insert... always worth saving for possible great deals for shoeboxes! In there you will find a coupon that you can use at Dollar Tree to get a GREAT deal.

This is from thekrazycouponlady.com

Buy 2 Safeguard Hand Soap, 2 ct $1.00, regular price
Use one $1.00/2 Ivory or Safeguard Personal Cleansing Products, excludes Ivory Dish & Laundry from PG 12/30 (exp 1/31)
Final Price: $0.50 each, when you buy 2

So each 2 ct pack is only 50 cents or 25 cents a bar... YAY. You could save this and hope for a better deal.... sometimes they even yield free products but this is a sure bet and a really good deal. :)

Note also that coupons.com has a lot of great coupons right now for toothpaste, soap, toothbrushes, etc for the shoeboxes. The floss coupon will yield FREE floss at Walmart. And the $2 off of 2 Reach toothbrushes can often yield amazing deals. (Last year I got free toothbrushes with that coupon.) 

Also at Staples... If you use Easy Rebates you can get free photo paper to use for photos in your shoeboxes, and in your life and discounted paper for crafting or to include in the boxes for drawing.

Hammermill CopyPlus Paper, ream $6.99
Submit for $5.99 Easy Rebate, Limit 4
Final Price: $1.00

Staples Photo Plus Paper, 60 pk $9.99
Submit for $9.99 Easy Rebate, Limit 2
Final Price: Free

Where Our Shoeboxes Are Going ~ Impact Stories

Recently I have been sharing about some of the places OUR shoeboxes are going... from here in the Klamath Area of Oregon: the Philippines, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru, and Panama.

Today I thought I would share some more impact stories from these nations... to encourage you to continue to pray for our shoeboxes as they go forth and for the precious children who will receive them. Our God is a mighty God who does AWESOME things through simple shoeboxes!

Peru, 2010: I Found Out That Jesus Could Heal Me

God worked on my health during the days the Bible School took place during the summer at my church. I really wanted to be there but I was hospitalized because of a kidney disease and urinating blood. My teacher brought me a shoe box to the hospital. My sadness became joy and hope when I found out that Jesus could heal me. They prayed for me and a week later God worked in my body and I wasn’t bleeding anymore. I left the hospital and came back to the church just in time to start the discipleship program. Now I’m graduated and I feel happy because God healed me and now I can witness to my friends.

Antonio Huamani Hechacaya, 8 years old

Mongolia 2008 - Children of prison inmates

Shoe box gifts were delivered to the children of prison inmates in March. These expressions of love touched the hearts of more than just the children and the prisoners. Some of the guards asked if boxes could be given to their children too. The Operation Christmas Child staff returned later to distribute boxes to the sons and daughters of the prison guards. They told the children about God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ, and taught them worship songs.
Hearing the Gospel convicted the guards of their own need for a Savior. “At first we thought this was good for the prisoners. They have done wrong. We didn’t think we needed to hear the message,” said one guard. “Now we want to know more about Jesus. We realize that we are sinners too.”

Philippines 2008 - Praying for a watch

“Before the gift distribution, we were asked to pray to God for things that we wanted to receive. I prayed hard that God will give me a watch. When I opened my gift I was so happy to find a watch inside, I can not afford to buy a watch, and God gave me one. Jesus loves me so much, Jesus loves our barangay, we are very far from the city, but Jesus loves me, he gave me a special box in spite of the many children who received a shoebox, Jesus gave the watch to me. He is so good. I am also very happy to have received 4 pairs of socks because my sock is old. When I received my gift I remembered my attitude towards my parents , I have not always been a good boy, but now I will respect my parents and ask for forgiveness to Jesus and be good boy”.

- John Rhey Suaverdez, 12 yrs old (Open Bible Christian Church, Casiguran Aurora)

Panama, 2008 - A child that was blessed in a special way

“Even though it is a little sad, there are fruits in it,” says Pastor Marcelino Gallardo. A 12 year-old kid, José, assisted an event in Marcelino’s church with his sister. Days later he gets sick and dies, but he had accepted Christ while in the church event. Now, his parents, even though they are going through pain, found relief in Christ and are now assist the same church.

Nepal 2010: a very poor village

There is a place named Shergunj and there live a people who are low in caste and very poor who have problems to feed their children and family, it’s a very poor village where there are no school and proper facility. When Samaritan's gifts were distributed in this place they all got very happy and some of the families even told that they have never received such beautiful gifts and had never been expect to get such gifts in the area that they live. They are very much thankful to whole the team of Samaritan's Purse. This distribution have made people of Shergunj very happy and have raised good feelings and made these people very friendly and open to the members of church by near. And now some of families are trying to learn about what is Christianity. And this gifts have created a positive response to all that even though they are lower caste people still there is God to look after them.

FREE STUFF!!

Here is Jessica from ClipWithPurpose.com with her second money saving video for OCC... FREE STUFF. I LOVE FREE!!!!!

Where Our Shoeboxes are Going ~ Part 3

I just received more confirmation... and email that someone was notified their box went to Peru!! In celebration of what God is doing through OUR shoeboxes in Peru, I am sharing this article about a distribution in Peru. SOOOO EXCITING TO SEE GOD AT WORK!

Journey to Peru: Life Care’s 2012 Operation Christmas Child ambassador trip

From March 26 – 30, 2012, five Life Care Centers of America associates travelled to Peru as Operation Christmas Child ambassadors. The group worked alongside teams from Samaritan’s Purse, distributing gift-filled shoe boxes to children in schools and churches. Life Care’s ambassadors served on two teams reaching several communities in the area around Lima.

The Land
Both groups were touched by the poverty in the dusty climate. Shanty towns line the gray hills, inhabited by squatters looking for work wherever they can find it. Most neighborhoods don’t even have running water.




“I knew that Peru was basically a poor country, but I was not prepared for how extremely poor the majority of the people are,” shared Tina Generally, registered nurse at University Park Care Center in Pueblo, Colo.

The People
Despite the poverty, the ambassadors found that the people were generous, putting on skits and dances for them, cheering their arrival as if they were rock stars and even giving them soda to drink.
“The genuine response of the churches was overwhelming,” said Tillie Grant, activity assistant at Life Care Center of Red Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn. “Everyone appreciated the small gifts and was willing to give of themselves for us.”

The Gifts
“The first distribution, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is just stuff,’ but you should see their eyes,” said Mark Niemeyer, executive director at Life Care Center of Altamonte Springs, Fla. “This is stuff that they just don’t get.”
Even the toothbrushes, combs and flashlights had the children smiling and laughing. One little girl sitting on a chair was so excited about her box that she kept lifting her tiny feet off the floor.
Boxes with personal letters were hands-down the favorite, especially with photos of the givers and addresses the children could use in corresponding with the families overseas.

The Love of God
It was the love, though, that made the biggest impact on the children.
The ambassadors were thrilled to bring smiles to the kids’ faces, letting the children climb up in their laps and teaching them one-on-one how to use the items in the boxes.
The teams also experienced some miracle moments. Sometimes, members thought they had run out of boxes but then found more. At one church, the children (who are also poor) gave up their opportunity to receive boxes so that their unchurched neighbors could experience God’s love. And at another distribution, a little boy with foot problems received a pair of perfectly fitting orthopedic shoes in his box.
The ambassadors also got to visit one of Samaritan’s Purse’s Greatest Journey classes, where children learn the story of Jesus and how to be disciples. The joy on the kids’ faces was evident.
“These kids have nothing to consume,” said Niemeyer. “But you give them the word of God, and they consume that.”

The Impact
“Last year, as I packed my own shoe box, I never realized the ripple effect of a single shoe box with a special note and how it could change children’s lives and certainly the families of these children,” Grant added.
The trip had a deep impact on the lives of those who went on the trip as well.
“It was a gift from God to me at a time when I could really use it,” said Jan Smith, secretary in Life Care’s Facility Financial Services department at the corporate office. “Through the trip and seeing their culture and the poor and needy, I see more of a need in being open and sharing Christ with others.”
“I’ll pray for these kids and where I’ve been,” said Tanya Mazzolini, director of Corporate Accounting at the corporate office. “It puts a place in your heart for these kids and that country. It puts a face on it.”

Where Are Our Shoeboxes Going, Part 2

I was so excited to hear from one of the readers of the blog, Kay, about where she believes the shoeboxes from this area may be going... so excited I just HAD to share! I love knowing for it just adds MORE detail to my prayers for the shoeboxes!

Here is her note:

"I believe the boxes from Oregon, Washington, and northern California were trucked to be processed in Huntington Beach, CA. Shoeboxes processed there went to Nepal, Mongolia, Panama, Peru, and the Philippines. I have not heard the numbers of boxes sent to each country. The day I volunteered in the H.B. processing center, the boxes went to the Philippines. Oregon boxes may have been shipped to these five countries, or more."

Our boxes WERE processed in California.. and this certainly matches what we know so far. We know that area boxes this year HAVE gone to Nepal and the Philippines.. and we know that they have gone to Mongolia in past years. How exciting that they may also have gone to Peru and Panama as well! We may yet learn of other areas as well. Praising God for His work in these areas.. may His Word go forth powerfully with EACH box.

And please DO let us know if you hear where your boxes went! We want to rejoice and pray with you.

Just because I am now SO excited to learn of other possibilities including Panama.. here is an OCC video with Matthew West in PANAMA.


PS I know some of you were having problems posting comments.. not being tech savvy, it took me a while to figure it out... but I have changed comment permissions so hopefully everyone can now post comments here. 

Where are Our Boxes Going???

Here from the Klamath Area, and from the whole Northwest, our boxes go many places. They vary year by year.... so please, if you tracked your package, share where you are from and where yours went in the comments section.

We know a lot of ours go to the Philippines. This is why we have made that an area of prayer focus. And so far I have already heard from two people who have received notification that that is where their boxes have gone.

I also know some have gone to NEPAL this year! Isn't that exciting? I have shared this video before but it is breathtaking... maybe YOUR box went there. I hope you enjoy this video of OCC and Nepal ~ Reaching into the Darkness:

Shopping Year Round Video

I pray you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I know that it is tempting to forget about Christmas and Operation Christmas Child.... but NOW is the perfect time to start thinking about next year's boxes. Why??? Christmas Clearance!! You probably already do this, buying clearance wrapping paper, for instance. But, those stocking stuffers and toys and clothing items are a BARGAIN and a great way to start filling next years box or boxes for LESS.

This video was made by ClipWithPurpose.com , one of the best savings sites for OCC online.. and this video clearly explains how to fill those shoeboxes for less. Start NOW and SAVE MORE.